Chapter 26

I hate people.

Like ants swarming in an anthill, humans swarm in the city.

It’s not that I hate people themselves. I don’t find people repulsive just because they appear in my sight.

I mean that their existence isn’t uncomfortable like cockroaches.

Then, what do I mean by “hate”? Simply put, I hated the very act of forming close relationships and coming into contact with others.

No one gets angry and disgusted when ants wriggle, move food, and carry leaves to their home.

But if ants crawl up your body, gnaw at the wood inside the walls, and pop out of the food you’re eating, we find that repulsive.

Yes.

I didn’t hate humans, but I felt disgust at the idea of humans existing nearby and touching my body.

That’s how I defined it.

If you ask why I’m muttering these useless thoughts and monologues while holed up in my room, I had my own reasons and circumstances.

‘There’s still no sign at all.’

The Hiyeon I knew from the original story immediately headed to the black market after learning about the existence of the love potion item… is this the difference between games and reality?

No, even if games and reality differ to some extent, the character’s personality and behavioral principles themselves shouldn’t change.

The protagonist’s personality, Hiyeon’s personality… even the personalities of supporting characters that I barely remember were exactly as I knew them.

Has a variable I don’t know about occurred?

Is it a problem that the protagonist is on a route I don’t know about, rather than the official route?

It’s true that the nonsensical situation of the protagonist working dawn shifts at the convenience store on academy grounds was quite far from my calculations.

But could such a trivial thing change a person’s personality itself?

In the end, Hiyeon moves to the black market. That’s the “main scenario” the status window talks about.

It’s simply a matter of time.

Whether it’s late or early.

“Status window.”

: Yes.

“No matter how late, the main story will eventually flow, right?”

: That’s right. Facts that have already been written are a flow that can never be changed. Even if small parts change, it eventually returns to its original state.

“…”

: Like a derailed train eventually returning to its original track.

A derailed train… is it?

I didn’t particularly rebut the status window’s words. I didn’t feel the need to go against it, and there was no reason to rebut anyway.

But in reality… it seemed that it didn’t know well that exceptions always exist.

A derailed train does eventually return to its original track, but it’s the power of people that puts it back on track.

What happens to an overturned train when there’s no human power?

So, let’s strip away all the difficult metaphors and talk simply.

I mean… what if the story that has deviated from the ‘main scenario’ becomes so twisted that it can’t be returned? What about the story after that?

Will a completely unknown new story emerge? Or will the world itself begin to collapse in a chain reaction? Is this world fake? Or is it real?

That’s what I’m talking about.

I just thought about it and didn’t voice it out.

The story that the main scenario might not have happened ultimately denies me.

…I couldn’t accept the one possibility that I might have prevented my family’s death and the mister’s death if I had tried a little harder, been more meticulous, or prepared in advance.

What is meant to happen must happen.

I must have been struck by an unavoidable natural disaster. I don’t need other possibilities.

The goal is just one.

I will restore all my precious things on the page after the ending.

♦♦♦

Time flows indifferently. Of course, because time doesn’t understand human hearts.

Hiyeon still showed no signs of going to the black market, and the protagonist was steadily building his foundation and skills.

I wondered if I could win against such a guy in the future, considering he still had room to grow, but what the status window said would happen, happens.

That is, I will become strong enough to fight against that.

That’s already a decided fact.

In the end, what I need to do is to further enhance my ability to reach ‘abstraction’ and eliminate teachers one by one by striking at the gaps seen in the academy.

If my ability [Other-Killing] operates based on some kind of system similar to equivalent exchange in a certain animation…

‘Maybe it will activate even if I kill any ability user, not just for quests…’

The quest is just the status window showing my ability in an easy-to-understand way, and in the end, my ability exists separately from the status window.

Do I need to test it?

Most teachers working at the academy do not leave the school grounds following the principal’s instructions.

Attacking within the grounds, where there are many CCTVs, without having received [Jamming] yet, would be suicidal. In the end, I have no choice but to hunt outside the grounds.

A student living outside the academy grounds who doesn’t use the dormitory.

That was the target that would be easy to attack.

‘…What do you think?’

: I don’t recommend it.

‘Why?’

: A student… especially a supporting character’s ability, it’s not very valuable. It doesn’t seem like it can be exchanged for a useful ability.

‘So the academy’s security would just get higher for nothing.’

: Yes. Unless it’s at least a leading role…

‘I got it.’

In the end, the story is back to square one.

I can’t move until Hiyeon heads to the black market, nor can I attack academy teachers and students.

The story has completely stalled.

A passive situation setting waiting for the other to act first.

It was the situation I hated the most.

I want to do something. No, rather, I have to do something… such compulsion. The simple fact that nothing happens if I don’t do anything was binding me.

I smoke cigarettes incessantly, and the room is completely covered in hazy smoke.

My vision becomes blurry, and my head becomes hazy.

Every day is the same as yesterday, and tomorrow is the same as today. The boredom in the repeating daily life, and the cigarettes are the button that can skip that boredom.

That’s what it is.

When the head becomes hazy, memories become hazy, and sensations become hazy.

Time feels like it’s flowing quickly.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that time is actually flowing quickly, but it was enough stimulation to soothe this moment.

Even in my hazed consciousness, I was unconsciously and continuously operating my ability, but there was still no sign of reaching ‘abstraction’, and I was only going in circles…

‘This is fucking shit.’

Emotional fluctuations were intensifying, and life was unbalanced. I often skipped meals, and there were times I stayed up all night without sleeping.

Nicotine, caffeine, alcohol.

I was only consuming one of the three essential nutrients necessary for the human body, but it seemed like I would soon be reaching for alcohol and caffeine as well.

Control yourself. You must control yourself.

.

.

.

I attend classes that have no nutritional value, just repeating content I already know.

The operation of abilities, the ‘Ability Exposure’ incident that happened in London, past history and common sense that don’t even affect the main scenario anyway.

I don’t even care about written grades, so I don’t understand why I’m pretending to care.

You guys are just trash who classify people by the usefulness and strength of their abilities, aren’t you?

Let’s not pretend with each other, we already know everything. Living while acting is too tiring, isn’t it? Be bold.

The teacher saw me being distracted.

Our eyes met.

The teacher averted his eyes. He acts as if he never made eye contact with me.

I don’t know why he acts that way, but as I fell into thought, I could barely remember his face.

‘…He’s that teacher who tried to teach me during the entrance ceremony.’

To be in charge of a formal subject, he must have a pretty good ability. I wonder what ability would come out if I killed him. Hmm… I’m not sure.

As I was thinking about this and that, the bell finally rang, announcing the end of the long, long class.

As I immediately slipped out of the classroom, I noticed a short vibration on my phone.

‘Who could it be?’

There’s no one who would contact me first.

To begin with, out of the people saved in my phone, the only living person was the protagonist.

I immediately unlocked it and checked the notification. There was a single message from an unknown number.

[XXX – XXXX – XXXX]

[Black market… will you come with me?]>

I could roughly guess who it was.

But it would be more fun to pretend not to know.

<[Who is this?]

[It’s me! Hiyeon!]>

<[How did you get my number?]

[I asked Ryu Seong.]>

<[More importantly, what do you mean by black market?]

[I’m scared, so I’m asking you to come with me…]>

Aha, aha, now I get it.

You were scared. Our childhood friend heroine, I mean. You were so scared to go alone.

I raised the corners of my mouth.

The plan might be slightly off, but anyway, the story is progressing.

I just needed to modify the plan.

<[When?]

I replied.